[1] Transferred to 9th Staffel (9./JG 53) in the following February, he had no success in the French campaign, and his first victory was on 12 August 1940 when he shot down a Spitfire over the Isle of Wight.

He was far more successful in the Battle of Britain however, and he had 17 victories by end of November 1940,[2] when he was transferred briefly to the Stab (HQ) flight of III./JG 53 as Gruppe-Adjutant.

With his unit covering the advance of Hoth's panzers on the northern side of Army Group Centre, on the opening day of the campaign (22 June 1941) he shot down four Russian aircraft, and his 30th victory was an I-16 fighter on 4 July.

Barely staying a few days to a week at a time, their mission was to protect the ground troops from enemy bombers as the blitzkrieg stormed eastward past Minsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk, toward Moscow.

But on 31 August 1941, returning from a freie Jagd (free hunt), he was himself shot down after being hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire east of Velikiye Luki.